dress

Hello lovelies. It’s been a bit of a rough week, hasn’t it? I am grateful for friends who talk on the phone and say I love you when we’re done, and the ones who write me into commercials for sewing machines, and the ones who assure me I’m not a bad person because I’ve spent more money than I intended to. Thank you for letting me be me and loving me just the same.

I’m pleased to say that the weather has improved significantly and dress season is open. I wore two beautiful outfits that I failed to document, but many other things take priority over snapping pictures and writing about my clothes.

Today I am wearing the sweetest dress from Simons via Mama Ro. It’s off the shoulder, it has buttons down the front, it has a tie, it has embroidery, it’s midi length, it’s got stripes. It sounds like it has a lot going on, but this dress is understated.

I just love the details of this dress.

I’ve paired it with a pair of strappy, cognac, leather sandals from Clarks, a gift from Papa Ro a few years ago. I kind of love that I’m wearing an outfit from my parents.

Leather sandals

Today is also the last day that I will be a redhead. Tomorrow morning I’ll be returning to life as a brunette. I loved having red hair, but I hated the maintenance and the financial burden of keeping it looking nice. Red hair fades to a really ugly colour very quickly. Without an expensive colour deposit shampoo, conditioner, and a pigment wash every couple of weeks, my hair looked magenta and I started to dread washing my hair because it meant using up product, and I really didn’t want to buy any more. I am looking forward to using light towels without leaving pink streaks everywhere. Going back to brunette isn’t going to cost less than staying red for another cycle, but this is the start of winding down expensive, finicky hair. It will be so nice to wash my hair without mentally rationing how much shampoo I have left.

Real talk: I’ve been in a rut for the last couple of days. I’ve been anxious and cranky and withdrawn, and that’s okay. I felt very frumpy yesterday. I am a wee bit puffy (THANKS FOR NOTHING, PMS) and was feeling less than svelte in my tight tank top and skinny pants, but I threw on a kimono and went to work as one does since nudity in the work place isn’t an option for me. God bless kimonos, and you betcha there is going to be a post about those soon enough.

Some days I can put on a fresh appearance and work through it, and other days I can’t. I just can’t. The last two days have been unproductive, and again, that’s okay from time to time, but I think I’m back in business today.

Oh, one more whine before I get on with things; IT’S RAINING AGAIN. Yes, I’m in Vancouver and I am used to this, but I’ll never like these dark, wet days. I almost always carry an umbrella with me, but today I was extra prepared when I wore these Jeffrey Campbell Stormy rain boots.

Jeffrey Campbell Stormy rain boots

They’ve got a pointier toe than the picture shows and I can wear them outside as well as around the office. I own them in black, too. I had to try very hard not to wear these every day this winter, but they went with everything. I wore them with rolled up skinny pants, skirts and tights, dresses and tights, leggings and sweaters; they truly went with everything and they came from Urban Outfitters and were reasonably priced at $62.00. 10/10 would buy again. If I had a capsule wardrobe, these would definitely be part of it.

Today I’m wearing these boots with black tights and a shirt dress with a very bold print. Cats and flowers, to be exact.

Cats and flowers

I love patterns. I wish my full-time job was to look at textiles and patterns all day long. I feel like this is a good in-between seasons look, I just wish it felt like it was between spring and summer and not winter and spring. Sigh, it turns out I’m still a little cranky. The dress came from Top Shop a few years ago on clearance and the tights are from Simons. When the weather inevitably gets nicer, I’ll wear it without leggings and pair it with pointy, black flats or oxfords, and I’ll probably fold the sleeves to my forearm to give it a less structured look.